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A pen is a alive monster that shoots lava at your eyeballs and burns your skin and can only be stopped by peeing on it. |
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[[Image:Pen.jpg|frame|A ballpoint pen]] |
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A '''pen''' (Latin ''penna'', feather) is a [[writing instrument]] that applies [[ink]] to a surface, usually [[paper]]. Pens can be used with inks of many colors but commonly make use of inks in shades varying between black, blue, red, and sometimes green. |
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==Types of pen== |
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Pens may be categorized by the kind of tip on them. The main modern types are: |
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* [[Ballpoint pen]] |
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* [[Rollerball pen]] |
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* [[Fountain pen]] |
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* [[Felt-tip pen]] |
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* [[Gel pen]] |
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[[Image:Reynolds ball point pen.jpg|50px|right|Reynolds Pen used in India]] |
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Historically, pens also came in the form of: |
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* [[Quill]]s |
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* [[Dip pen]]s |
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==History== |
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===Reed pens=== |
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The [[Ancient Egypt]]ians had developed writing on [[papyrus]] scrolls when scribes used thin reed brushes or [[reed pen]]s from the Juncus Maritimus or sea rush <ref>[http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/exhibits/writing/reed_pen.html Egyptian reed pen] Retrieved 16 March 2007.</ref>. In his book ''A History of Writing'', Steven Roger Fischer suggests that on the basis of finds at [[Saqqara]], the reed pen might well have been used for writing on parchment as long ago as the First Dynasty or about 3000 BC. Reed pens continued to be used until the [[Middle Ages]] although they were slowly replaced by quills from about the seventh century. |
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===Quills=== |
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The [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] discovered in 1947 on the northwest bank of the [[Dead Sea]] date back to around 100 BC. At that time they were written in [[Hebrew]] dialects with bird feathers or quills. After the fall of the [[Roman Empire]], Europeans had difficultly in obtaining reeds and began to use quills. There is a specific reference to quills in the writings of [[St. Isidore of Seville]] in the [[7th century]]<ref>[http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780511217593&ss=ind The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville], Cambridge Catalogue Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref>. [[Quill pen]]s were used until the [[nineteenth century]]. |
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===Metal nibs=== |
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Metal [[Nib (pen)|nibs]] appear to have very early origins. A pen with a bronze nib was found in the ruins of [[Pompei]] showing nibs must have been in use in the year 79<ref>[http://www.arnoldwagner.com/dippens/dip_pens1.htm Arnold Wagner - Dip Pens]. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref>. There is also a reference in [[Samuel Pepys]]' diary for August 1663. A metal pen point was patented in [[1803]] but the patent was not commercially exploited. John Mitchell of [[Birmingham]] started to massproduce pens with metal nibs in 1822<ref>[http://jquarter.members.beeb.net/morepentrade.htm More about the pen trade] from The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter site. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref>. |
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During the [[19th century]] metal nibs replaced quill pens. By [[1850]] the quality of steel nibs had improved and [[dip pen]]s with metal nibs came into generalized use. |
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===Fountain pens=== |
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[[Image:WATERMAN CONCORDE.jpg|thumb|200px|right|WATERMAN Pen & Fountain pens made for Air France's CONCORDE]] |
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While a student in [[Paris]], the Romanian inventor [[Petrache Poenaru]] invented the world's first [[fountain pen]], an invention for which the [[France|French]] Government issued a patent on May 25, [[1827]]<ref>[http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/stiinta/poenaru.html Petrache Poenaru]. Romanian National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref>. [[Lewis Waterman|Lewis Edson Waterman]], a New York insurance broker invented the capillary feed fountain pen in [[1884]] producing a much more continuous flow of ink<ref>[http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blwaterman.htm Lewis Waterman] from the About Inventors site. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref>. |
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===Ballpoints=== |
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The first patent on a ballpoint pen was issued on [[October 30]] [[1888]], to John J Loud<ref> GB Patent No. 15630, [[30 October]] [[1888]]</ref>. In 1938, [[László Bíró]], a Hungarian newspaper editor, with the help of his brother George, a chemist, began to work on designing new types of pens including one with a tiny [[ball]] in its tip that was free to turn in a socket. As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rotated, picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper. Bíró filed a British patent on June 15, 1938. In 1940 the Bíró brothers and a friend, Juan Jorge Meyne, moved to [[Argentina]] fleeing Nazi Germany and on June 10, filed another patent, and formed ''Bíró Pens of Argentina''. By the summer of [[1943]] the first commercial models were available<ref>[http://www.quido.cz/objevy/propis.a.htm The Ballpoint Pen], Quido Magazin. Retrieved March 11 2007.</ref>. Erasable ballpoint pens were introduced by [[Papermate]] in 1979 when the [[Erasermate]] was put on the market.<ref>[http://www.papermate.com/sanford/consumer/papermate/history_frame.jhtml;jsessionid=JTONJ1CFIIJOSCQHUB2CF3Q?timeframe=60 Papermate official site.]</ref> |
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[[Image:Marker1.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Modern marker pens]] |
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===Felt tips=== |
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In the [[1960s]] the fibre, or [[felt-tipped pen]] was invented by Yukio Horie of the Tokyo Stationery Company, [[Japan]]<ref>[http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpen.htm History of Pens & Writing Instruments]], About Inventors site. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref>. Papermate's Flair was among the first felt-tip pens to hit the U.S. market in the [[1960s]], and it has been the leader ever since. [[Marker pen]]s and [[highlighter]]s, both similar to felt pens, have become popular in recent years. |
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===Rollerballs=== |
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[[Rollerball pen]]s were introduced in the early [[1980s]]. They make use of a mobile ball and liquid ink to produce a smoother line. Technological advances achieved during the late [[1980s]] and early [[1990s]] have improved the roller ball's overall performance. |
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===Porous Point=== |
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A [[porous point pen]] contains a point that is made of some porous material such as felt or ceramic. |
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A high quality drafting pen will usually have a ceramic tip, since this wears well and does not broaden when pressure is applied while writing. |
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==The Pen Industry in the United States== |
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{{globalize|section}} |
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Statistics on writing instruments (including pencils) from WIMA (the U.S. ''Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association'') show that in 2005, retractable ball point pens were by far the most popular in the United States (26%), followed by standard ball points (14%). Other categories represented very small percentages (3% or less)<ref>[http://www.wima.org/industry/index.htm WIMA website]. Retrieved 12 March 2007.</ref>. There is however also a thriving industry in luxury pens, often fountain pens, sometimes priced at $1000 or more<ref>[http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/16886417.htm Low-tech luxury Gift or accessory, jewelry designers see business in luxe writing tools], Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 12 March 2007.</ref>. |
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== Bibliography == |
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* Fischer, Steven R., A History of Writing, London: Reaktion, 2001, 352 p., ISBN 1861891016 |
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==See also== |
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*[[Counterfeit banknote detection pen]] |
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*[[Gel pen]] |
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*[[Ink]] |
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*[[Pen and ink]] |
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*[[Calligraphy]] |
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*[[Pen spinning]] |
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*[[Space Pen]] |
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*[[Technical pen]] |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.wima.org/directory/index.htm Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association] |
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==Footnotes== |
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<div class="references-small"> |
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<references/> |
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</div> |
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[[Category:Pens| ]] |
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[[Category:Writing instruments]] |
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[[Category:Stationery]] |
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[[ar:قلم]] |
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[[bpy:পেন]] |
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[[cs:Pero (psací náčiní)]] |
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[[de:Stift (Werkzeug)]] |
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[[dv:ގަލަން]] |
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[[eo:Plumo (skribilo)]] |
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[[fr:Stylo]] |
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[[gd:Peann]] |
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[[id:Pen]] |
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[[he:עט]] |
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[[ms:Pen]] |
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[[nl:Pen]] |
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[[ja:ペン]] |
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[[ko:펜]] |
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[[no:Penn]] |
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[[pt:Caneta]] |
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[[ru:Ручка (канцелярия)]] |
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[[simple:Pen]] |
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[[sk:Pero (nástroj na písanie)]] |
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[[sr:Перо]] |
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[[fi:Kynä]] |
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[[sv:Penna]] |
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[[vec:Pena]] |
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[[yi:פעדער]] |
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[[zh-yue:筆]] |
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[[zh:筆]] |
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Revision as of 16:36, 18 April 2008
A pen is a alive monster that shoots lava at your eyeballs and burns your skin and can only be stopped by peeing on it.